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Journalism · MS elective · 3 credit hours · 16 sessions

Data Journalism & Visualization

“In God we trust; all others must bring data.” This technical course merges statistics, coding, and design to uncover stories hidden in spreadsheets. Students will learn to scrape data from the web, clean messy datasets, analyze trends using Excel or SQL, and present their findings through interactive charts and maps (using tools like Tableau or Flourish) that make complex information accessible.

§ 01 By the end you can
  1. Master the workflow of Data Journalism: Scrape, Clean, Analyze, Visualize
  2. Use advanced Excel functions (Pivot Tables, VLOOKUP) and basic SQL for analysis
  3. Visualize data effectively: Choosing the right chart for the right data
  4. Create interactive maps and dashboards using Tableau, Flourish, or Datawrapper
  5. Fact-check statistical claims to avoid "lying with statistics"
§ 02 Sixteen sessions

The whole semester.

  1. 01Introduction to Data Journalism: Finding the Story
  2. 02Finding Data: Public Records & Open Data Portals
  3. 03Data Cleaning I: OpenRefine Basics
  4. 04Data Cleaning II: Formatting & Normalization
  5. 05Analysis I: Excel Pivot Tables
  6. 06Analysis II: Outliers & Trends
  7. 07Introduction to Scraping (No-Code tools)
  8. 08 · MidtermMidterm Examination
  9. 09Visualization Theory: Color & Cognitive Load
  10. 10Creating Static Charts (Bar, Line, Scatter)
  11. 11Interactive Visualization: Flourish
  12. 12Mapping: GIS Basics for Journalists
  13. 13Infographics: Combining Text & Visuals
  14. 14Scrollytelling: Narrative Data Stories
  15. 15Ethics: Privacy & Misrepresentation
  16. 16Final Project: The Data-Driven Investigative Story

Midterm around session 8. Final project briefed at session 8 or 9 and developed in stages until the juries.

§ 03 Final project

Final Project: The Data-Driven Investigative Story

How it’s judged

Recommended reading
  1. The Functional Art by Alberto Cairo
  2. Data Journalism Handbook by Jonathan Gray
  3. Facts are Sacred by Simon Rogers
  4. Storytelling with Data by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic
  5. Visualize This by Nathan Yau
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